scholarly journals How to Protect Free Flowing Rivers: The Bita River Ramsar Site as an Example of Science and Management Tools Working Together

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1775
Author(s):  
Cesar Freddy Suárez ◽  
Monica Paez-Vasquez ◽  
Fernando Trujillo ◽  
Jose Saulo Usma ◽  
Michele Thieme ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
High Plains ◽  
Ramsar Site ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Conservation Area ◽  
Local Stakeholder

The Orinoco river basin is the third largest river in the world by volume. Its catchment encompasses 27 major sub-basins including the Bita with a catchment area of about 825,000 ha, which originates in the Colombian high plains in the Llanos ecoregion. It has been recognized as a priority area for conservation through different gap analyses and overall determined to have good health according to the Orinoco report card 2016. The natural climate and hydrologic processes, and their synergies with flooded forests, savannas, wetlands, species diversity and local economic activities, are part of a dynamic and sensitive system. With the purpose of conserving the ecological, social and cultural benefits that it brings, the Colombian Government, with the support of regional and local civil society organizations, promoted the designation of a conservation area. Technical exercises were carried out including biological and socioeconomic surveys, local stakeholder consultations and future scenario modeling. In June 2018, the Bita River basin was designated as the largest Ramsar site in Colombia, providing a worldwide example of explicit protection of riverine systems. In order to maintain this free-flowing river, land use and fisheries management, in conjunction with other conservation actions, are being implemented and provide a model of protection for freshwater ecosystems that could be replicated elsewhere.

A novel application of an adaptive surrogate-based modeling optimization (ASMO) for the Community Territory System Model (CTSM) in Alaska

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yifan Cheng ◽  
Andrew Newman ◽  
Sean Swenson ◽  
David Lawrence ◽  
Anthony Craig ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Computational Cost ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
System Model ◽  
Surface Model ◽  
Yukon River ◽  
Yukon River Basin

<p>Climate-induced changes in snow cover, river flow, and freshwater ecosystems will greatly affect the indigenous groups in the Alaska and Yukon River Basin. To support policy-making on climate adaptation and mitigation for these underrepresented groups, an ongoing interdisciplinary effort is being made to combine Indigenous Knowledge with western science (https://www.colorado.edu/research/arctic-rivers/).</p><p>A foundational component of this project is a high fidelity representation of the aforementioned land surface processes. To this end, we aim to obtain a set of reliable high-resolution parameters for the Community Territory System Model (CTSM) for the continental scale domain of Alaska and the entire Yukon River Basin, which will be used in climate change simulations. CTSM is a complex, physically based state-of-the-science land surface model that includes complex vegetation and canopy representation, a multi-layer snow model, as well as hydrology and frozen soil physics necessary for the representation of streamflow and permafrost. Two modifications to the default CTSM configuration were made. First, we used CTSM that is implemented with hillslope hydrology to better capture the fine-scale hydrologic spatial heterogeneity in complex terrain. Second, we updated the input soil textures and organic carbon in CTSM using the high-resolution SoilGrid dataset.</p><p>In this study, we performed a multi-objective optimization on snow and streamflow metrics using an adaptive surrogate-based modeling optimization (ASMO). ASMO permits optimization of complex land-surface models over large domains through the use of surrogate models to minimize the computational cost of running the full model for every parameter combination. We ran CTSM at a spatial resolution of 1/24<sup>th</sup> degree and a temporal resolution of one hour using the ERA5 reanalysis data as the meteorological forcings. The ERA5 reanalysis data were bias-corrected to account for the orographic effects. We will discuss the ASMO-CTSM coupling workflow, performance characteristics of the optimization (e.g., computational cost, iterations), and comparisons of the default configuration and optimized model performance.</p>

scholarly journals Contingency Plan: Comparison of Health Policies in Managing COVID-19 in Singapore and Indonesia

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-34
Author(s):  
Khalish Arsy Al Khairy Siregar ◽  
Deasy Nur Chairin Hanifa
Keyword(s):  
Health Policy ◽  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Disaster Mitigation ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
The Past ◽  
System 2 ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

 Introduction: Singapore is one of the countries with the lowest mortality rate and the best handling of COVID-19. Singapore can be an example for Indonesia on COVID 19 pandemic handling.Methods: The method used is a literature review from google platform with these keywords: “Singapore Health Policy in COVID-19, Indonesian Health Policy in COVID-19, Singapore's success in suppressing COVID-19”. The analysis was done by comparing the policies taken from the two countries in dealing with COVID-19.Results: Singapore and Indonesia did indeed have very big differences in terms of government and in broad areas, it cannot be denied that Indonesia can have the same opportunity as Singapore in providing a good health disaster mitigation system for the community. Three factors influence Singapore's success in dealing with COVID-19: 1) having a responsive and efficient health disaster mitigation system, 2) government legitimacy which is determined by the capacity of the state. Singapore has a semi-centralized government with high legitimacy the experience of dealing with pandemics in the past, 3) Singapore's experience with SARS in the past makes Singaporeans understand very well the impact of the pandemic on their economic activities and social life.Conclusion: Several things can be emulated from Singapore in handling COVID-19 was the transparency, strong communication between community and the government, prioritizing the benefit and safety of civil society and building obedience and awareness of Covid 19 prevention.

scholarly journals Fish, Marmelos Conservation Area (BX044), Madeira River basin, states of Amazonas and Rondônia, Brazil

Check List ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauricio Camargo ◽  
Tommaso Giarrizzo
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Fish Species ◽  
Ecological Assessment ◽  
Aquatic System ◽  
Species List ◽  
Conservation Area ◽  
Madeira River ◽  
Northern Brazil ◽  
Rapid Ecological Assessment ◽  
Madeira River Basin

The present study provides a species list of fish from the Marmelos River Area – BX044 in the states of Amazonas and Rondônia in northern Brazil. During a Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) performed in October and November of 2003, 133 fish species from six orders and 24 families were recorded. The most diverse families were Characidae (47 species), Cichlidae (15 species), Loricariidae (12 species) and Pimelodidae (7 species). 23 fish species were common to the entire river basin and 4 were endemic to the aquatic system studied.

scholarly journals Ethnobotany of rural people from the boundaries of Carlos Botelho State Park, São Paulo State, Brazil

2006 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 899-909 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Hanazaki ◽  
Vinícius Castro Souza ◽  
Ricardo Ribeiro Rodrigues
Keyword(s):  
Common Species ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Plant Resources ◽  
Conservation Area ◽  
Rural People ◽  
Successional Stages ◽  
Disturbed Forest ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Area Data

In this article we describe and analyze the use of plant resources in a region nearby a conservation area. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, in which we asked the interviewees to free list the plants known. Species cited were identified through collection of botanical samples, and field observations. Fifty-eight inhabitants were interviewed; banana farming, cattle ranching, and extracting palm hearts are their main economic activities. A total of 248 ethnospecies were mentioned, including over 200 botanical species. Plants were grouped into four habitats (A = well-preserved forest; B = disturbed forest in old successional stages; C = recently disturbed environments; D = cultivated areas and home gardens). Highest diversity is known for plants from A habitats, followed by C+D, and finally by B areas; however, a higher number of species is expected in B areas when compared to C+D. There is a small number of common species, and comparable proportions of intermediate and rare species, for all habitats. Common species occur in all types of habitats. Local knowledge of plants from well-preserved habitats is more diverse than for plants from other areas, suggesting that the relationship between inhabitants and the conservation area is still intense.

scholarly journals Integrating Illness Management into Identity Verification Processes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Maietta
Keyword(s):  
Good Health ◽  
Illness Management ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Identity Verification ◽  
Self Presentation ◽  
Or Management ◽  
Identity Processes ◽  
Verification Process

Individuals living with type 1 diabetes (T1D) or type 2 diabetes (T2D) can experience conflict between self-presentation and their symptoms or management regimens. In this article, I explain how these individuals might use their illness management techniques to aid in successfully self-presenting, or having their identities verified. Interview respondents associate conflicts brought on by symptoms or management regimens with identity processes and report some instances when illness management enables them to successfully perform identities. Researchers have previously found ways that individuals work to renegotiate or preserve their identities by suppressing or hiding their illnesses. I additionally highlight instances where individuals embrace illness management to successfully perform identities, a process I call integrating illness management into the identity verification process. The importance of research on access to illness management tools and education is emphasized, as researchers aid individuals not only in maintaining good health, but also being their best social selves.

Early assessment of mental health and options for documentation of torture in newly arrived asylum seekers

2021 ◽  
pp. 387-394
Author(s):  
Nora Sveaass ◽  
Birgit Lie
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Early Identification ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Health Assessment ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Public Health Approach ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Early Assessment ◽  
Health Related

This chapter describes experiences regarding early health assessment of persons seeking protection in a new society, and discusses these in relation to existing research. as well as to policies and recommendations from states, academia, and civil-society organizations. Early identification and documentation of torture and other human rights violations with regard to follow-up, protection needs, right to reparation, and access to justice are touched upon. There is a growing acknowledgement of the importance of early assessment of health and early identification of health-related problems in persons exposed to ongoing and serious stress. We will argue that this should also be understood in terms of international obligations to provide health care and other forms of redress to persons subjected to torture and ill treatment. States receiving refugees and asylum seekers must consider good health assessments and services to persons seeking protection, as part of their human rights obligations, as well as good and sound public health approach.

scholarly journals Dynamic Changes of Soil Erosion in the Taohe River Basin Using the RUSLE Model and Google Earth Engine

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao Wang ◽  
Hu Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Conservation Area ◽  
Conservation Practice ◽  
Rusle Model ◽  
Google Earth Engine

The Taohe River Basin is the largest tributary and an important water conservation area in the upper reaches of the Yellow River. In order to investigate the status of soil erosion in this region, we conducted a research of soil erosion. In our study, several parameters of the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) model are extracted by using Google Earth Engine. The soil erosion modulus of the Taohe River Basin was calculated based on multi-source data, and the spatio-temporal variation characteristics of the soil erosion intensity were analyzed. The results showed the following: (1) the average soil erosion modulus of the Taohe River Basin in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2018 were 1424, 1195, 1129, 1099 and 1124 t·ha−1·year−1, respectively, and the overall downward trend was obvious. (2) The ranges of soil erosion in the Taohe River Basin in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2018 are basically the same—mainly with slight erosion—and the soil erosion in the middle and lower reaches was more serious. (3) When dealing with the vegetation cover factor and conservation practice factor in the RUSLE model, Google Earth Engine provided a new approach for soil erosion investigation and monitoring over a large area.

scholarly journals Freshwater Ecosystems versus Hydropower Development: Environmental Assessments and Conservation Measures in the Transboundary Amur River Basin

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simonov ◽  
Nikitina ◽  
Egidarev
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Proper Time ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Amur River Basin ◽  
Dam Construction ◽  
Management Scenarios ◽  
Hydropower Development ◽  
Amur River ◽  
Environmental Assessments ◽  
Hydropower Impacts

Hydropower development causes a multitude of negative effects on freshwater ecosystems, and to prevent and minimize possible damage, environmental impact assessments must be conducted and optimal management scenarios designed. This paper examines the impacts of both existing and proposed hydropower development on the transboundary Amur River basin shared by Russia, China, and Mongolia, including the effectiveness of different tools and measures to minimize damage. It demonstrates that the application of various assessment and conservation tools at the proper time and in the proper sequence is the key factor in mitigating and minimizing the environmental impacts of dams. The tools considered include basin-wide assessments of hydropower impacts, the creation of protected areas on rivers threatened by dam construction, and environmental flows. The results of this work show how the initial avoidance and mitigation of hydropower impacts at early planning stages are more productive than the application of any measures during and after dam construction, that the assessment of hydropower impacts must be performed at a basin level rather than be limited to a project implementation site, and that the full spectrum of possible development scenarios should be considered. In addition, this project demonstrates that stakeholder analysis and robust public engagement are as crucial for the success of environmental assessments as scientific research is for the protection of river basins.

scholarly journals Confronting South Africa’s water challenge: A decomposition analysis of water intensity

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 831-847 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel Kohler
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Decomposition Analysis ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Water Intensity ◽  
The Impact

Water is a vital natural resource, demanding careful management. It is essential for life and integral to virtually all economic activities, including energy and food production and the production of industrial outputs. The availability of clean water in sufficient quantities is not only a prerequisite for human health and well-being but the life-blood of freshwater ecosystems and the many services that these provide. Water resource intensity measures the intensity of water use in terms of volume of water per unit of value added. It is an internationally accepted environmental indicator of the pressure of economic activity on a country’s water resources and therefore a reliable indicator of sustainable economic development. The indicator is particularly useful in the allocation of water resources between sectors of the economy since in waterstressed countries like South Africa, there is competition for water among various users, which makes it necessary to allocate water resources to economic activities that are less intensive in their use of water. This study focuses on economy-wide changes in South Africa’s water intensity using both decomposition and empirical estimation techniques in an effort to identify and understand the impact of economic activity on changes in the use of the economy’s water resources. It is hoped that this study will help inform South Africa’s water conservation and resource management policies

Urgent need for a systematic expansion of freshwater protected areas in Australia

2006 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard T. Kingsford ◽  
Jon Nevill
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Direct Consequence ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Hydrologic Connectivity ◽  
National Assessment ◽  
Protective Mechanisms ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Systematic Expansion ◽  
Effective Conservation

Freshwater ecosystems (including inland saline wetlands and mound springs) are among the more imperilled ecosystems in the world. Australia is no exception, but their protection has lagged behind programmes of terrestrial protection. Freshwater protected areas are an essential component of biodiversity conservation programmes, but a systematic approach to their development in Australia has been slow, and hindered by incomplete ecosystem inventories at State and national levels. We examine this problem and suggest avenues for action. Further, while there is no shortage of relevant legislation and policy for protecting freshwater aquatic systems in Australia, some protective mechanisms have not yet been used, many years after their development. In some places "protection" has been only partially applied without regard to important issues of hydrologic connectivity ? with species extinction as a direct consequence. The most urgent priority is to identify those aquatic ecosystems most at risk. A comprehensive national assessment of the conservation status of freshwater ecosystems should be undertaken immediately. Such an assessment would provide both a platform and an impetus for the systematic expansion of the nation's freshwater protected areas. Political will is then essential for effective conservation, utilizing the plethora of conservation and management tools available.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document